Woman takes on vitiligo bullies with bold tattoo

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New Yorker Tiffany Posteraro spent most of her life wearing heavy foundation and using dark spray tans to cover her vitiligo. In an interview with PA Real Life, she said she first noticed the condition on her knees at the age of seven.

“At first, we had no idea what it was. Then, when I was 11, I was in a grocery store with my mum and a man pulled me aside and said: ‘You have vitiligo.’” Later, she looked up the condition online and discovered she “wasn’t the only person in the world with this condition”.

The condition, which is triggered as a result of low melanin, causes pale patches to appear on the skin. But for Posteraro, it meant years of bullying. “People would say, ‘Did you tan under a tree?’ I got called ‘cow’, ‘Dalmatian’, ‘ghost face’, ‘burns victim’. A few boys in my class told me, ‘I can’t date you because of this.’ It was horrible.

“I covered my legs and arms most of the time, even in the sweltering heat, and would avoid pool parties because it meant wearing a bikini.”

But after years of bullying, the 24-year-old learned to embrace her vitiligo. She had an encounter with another woman with the condition, and also saw the trailblazing model Winnie Harlow, who was spotted on Instagram by Tyra Banks and invited to star in America’s Next Top Model. They inspired her to be proud of her skin, and she decided on a tattoo that reads: ‘It’s called Vitiligo’.

Model Winnie Harlow

“I was sick of the stares. I just wanted to say, ‘Come on, ask me what it is.’ I wanted to share with people what it is because that way they would learn something, rather than stigmatising.”

Model Winnie HarlowCredit:
Winnie Harlow/Instagram

She’s noticed a very positive reaction. “Now people are like, ‘I love your tattoo.’ They ask questions about the condition and go away enlightened. They know I didn’t get burnt in a fire. They know there’s a term for what I have. It’s very liberating.”

Posteraro says her vitiligo has helped her become a more understanding person. “I believe I am a better person and a more empathetic person for having vitiligo. I don’t look at someone and focus on their flaws. Flaws to one person are beautiful to another.”